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VectorLeave a comment on Minecraft and Pack.pngMinecraft

Minecraft and Pack.png

Every now and then something grabs my attention, so much so that I want to talk about it. One of my favorite games to play, Minecraft, is filled with things that I find fascinating. One of these sthings in particular has to do with a file in the game, Pack.png. This file is a grainy 128×128 color image depicting a mountain with a waterfall. It is a screenshot taken in one of the later Alpha versions of the game (around 2010). This is what the image looks like:

Through various techniques, including using technology that borrows CPU/GPU time from a network of machines in order to accomplish tasks, the original world seed was discovered that generates the world in which the image was taken in. The following video from SalC1, a Minecraft YouTuber, explains the project.

VectorLeave a comment on Inspirational VideosLife

Inspirational Videos

In today’s world there are many examples of division and chaos. One only needs to look at a news site like CNN, Fox News, BBC, MSNBC, The Daily Wire, Breitbart, or whatever news site you frequent. You can find conflict so easily these days, saturating our minds and informing us of how bad the world is. We can never get enough of conflict. But what we need more of, and it is in rather short supply, more unity. We need to have more stories that connect us rather than divide us.

One thing in life I want to do is find examples of such unity. There are actually plenty of examples and they can come from the unlikeliest of sources. I believe that even in the worst of people, there are things about them that can unite with the best of people. It is said that respect is earned, but is that really true? What if we all need respect, even the ones we feel don’t deserve it?

I have a YouTube playlist that I have been adding to for awhile now. Some of the videos might speak to you, or they might not. Either way, I hope that you gain something from watching them. We need to do better as Americans, and as inhabitants of this world. I hope that this playlist can at least attempt to show a side of humanity that is worth pursuing.

You can find the playlist here.

VectorLeave a comment on What if Jesus had never been born?Religion

What if Jesus had never been born?

I’m not a theologian or a scholar. At most I’m a layman Seventh-Day Adventist who very much cares about their faith. I care about how my faith has helped to craft who I am. I do not want merely to do as I wish but as Jesus would want me to do. That can be a challenge but I want my actions to be morally justified as much as I can help. I find that to be a challenge in a world where everything is seen subjectively.

Right and wrong are nothing more than opinions, or are they? What if a certain religion had it right and could serve as an example for other religions? I’m not here to provide definitive proof. However, I would like to share a lecture that I felt was profound enough that I wouldn’t want to wait idly by without the opportunity to mention it.

In February 2020, Jon Paulien, a theologian and professor of the School of Religion at Loma Linda University, gave a lecture on the influence of Christianity on the world. The lecture is provided by the Center for Understanding World Religions, which is a center whose aim is to provide clarity and understanding of non-SDA religions. It is my hope that people can gain more clarity from this lecture on Christianity.

The lecture can be seen here.

VectorLeave a comment on Goodbye 2021Life

Goodbye 2021

Hello there.

I’m going to keep this short but I wanted to drop by before 2021 ends. It’s been awhile since I posted on here. I haven’t felt like posting all that much. Also, I haven’t been doing as much either. It seems there’s enough to preoccupy myself with when it comes to looking at the news and well, we know what the news has been like this year and last as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on hold for the time being. It seems like everything has changed. At the same time, we carry on, learning to deal with the reality the pandemic put us in. The way we have adapted shows that we are resilient and this virus is not going to shut us down completely. If 2021 has taught us anything, it’s that despite all the challenges brought on by the past, political ideology and outrage, here we still stand.

So goodbye 2021. May 2022 bring us a period of reckoning. We need healing.

Vector1 Comment on The Code Speak Distribution System Has Launched!Projects

The Code Speak Distribution System Has Launched!

I am proud to announce that this system has finally been released! After almost 2 years in development, I can finally present something that has taken a lot of work and research to pull off. Not only does this reduce the amount of work that I have to do in order to release program updates, but it provides a better experience for you.

I have also developed a client to go with the system as well. This will allow you to install and launch programs all from a single place. Instead of having to download everything separately, this enables you to keep everything organized. I decided to build this system for 2 reasons:

  • Automate and simplify the process of releasing programs and updates
  • Provide a better experience for accessing the various programs that have been released

I have not only built a client to access programs but have also made the same information available from this website. You can access the same information the client has access to from this page.

As this project has taken a lot of work and research I’m going to create another post just on my experiences as well as show how this project has included concepts that have been in other past projects as well.

VectorLeave a comment on codespeak.org Now Secured Using Let’s Encrypt!Website

codespeak.org Now Secured Using Let’s Encrypt!

I have finally switched codespeak.org over to SSL using Let’s Encrypt! I have had this domain for over 10 years without SSL so it’s about time. I also set this as a requirement for myself in order to release the distribution system. I’m also aware that it’s standard practice to use SSL on a website. Google will rank my site higher now because it’s using SSL, so that’s a bonus in addition to this change.

Let’s Encrypt was actually enabled on my domain as a free service from my webhost so I didn’t have to purchase a certificate in order to do this. However, I had to acquire a certificate for the VPS that hosts some of the files linked on this site.